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Best IWD party setup

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  • WowoWowo Member Posts: 2,064
    @theoduck what were the kill stats for the characters? Was the run satisfying? Which characters were strongest? Weakest? Would you have changed any characters if you'd known better?

    Personally I'd always go for a Skald in a HoF run, the AC bonus is just so convenient for maximising efficiency.

    Seems a bit light on healing while waiting to get back priest levels too?

    Also seems light on arcane power, that's a fair chunk of the game to have only one arcane spell cast per round?
    JuliusBorisovCrevsDaak
  • theoducktheoduck Member Posts: 12
    Wowo said:

    @theoduck what were the kill stats for the characters? Was the run satisfying? Which characters were strongest? Weakest? Would you have changed any characters if you'd known better?

    Personally I'd always go for a Skald in a HoF run, the AC bonus is just so convenient for maximising efficiency.

    Seems a bit light on healing while waiting to get back priest levels too?

    Also seems light on arcane power, that's a fair chunk of the game to have only one arcane spell cast per round?

    Joy (Paladin) 34% total XP; 33% total kills; 351 kills
    Arya (Swashbuckler/Fighter) 33% total XP; 33% total kills; 360 kills
    Sedaris (Fighter/Druid) 10% total XP; 9% total kills; 102 kills
    Krystal (Priest of Lathander/Mage) 2% total XP; 4% total kills; 51 kills
    Mephisto (Sorcerer) 3% total XP; 4% total kils; 50 kils
    Grath (Fighter/Thief) 14% total XP; 13% total kills; 145 kills

    Non dual-classers started with 1,200,000 XP
    Dual-classers began IWD with enough XP to start the second class

    Yes, it was very challenging, despite the fact that all characters started the game with a ring of free action. My thinking on that was if a character got held, it was just gonna be a reload anyway, so I just cut out the middle man. There were some really tough parts of the game that required precise tactics -- the troll & spider level of Dragon's Eye was very hard -- harder than the fight with Yxunomei. My Paladin just barely beat Presio in single combat.

    I liked this party a lot. It was a challenge, but rarely did anyone get offed -- I had to choose my sorcerer's spells very carefully; all debilitators (web, chaos, hold undead). Improved haste was handy to have... animate dead was a real game-changer, particularly at high levels; opponents would go for the undead, which were immune to big damage spells like horrid wilting.
    CrevsDaakmf2112
  • rickcrrickcr Member Posts: 77
    Since it's sort of pain without EE Keeper on my Android device where I'm going to play IWD:EE, I don't want to screw up making my first party so need some thoughts on the following, and what specializations to take?

    Pally [ two hand? ] or Berserker [dual wield long swords?]
    Druid Avenger Kit? Specialization?
    Elf F/T - my archer/ thief [ longbow, long sword ]
    Dwarf Cleric - [ mace, sling ]
    Bard - skald?
    Elf Sorcerer [staff/ darts ]

    I don't mind dualing or multi on the Druid if it's super beneficial but I want to play a pure Cleric and Sorcerer.

    Pally would be main tank with the Cleric off tank if I go with Avenger for the Druid.

    Party above seem pretty well-rounded?


  • PokotaPokota Member Posts: 858
    All these arguments on a six-person power team.

    What's the optimal four-person power team?
  • CrevsDaakCrevsDaak Member Posts: 7,155
    edited January 2017
    Pokota said:

    All these arguments on a six-person power team.

    What's the optimal four-person power team?

    For me it would be:
    • Fighter/Thief
    • Fighter/Mage
    • Bard
    • Druid
    But I've never completed the game anyway.
  • FinneousPJFinneousPJ Member Posts: 6,455
    Pokota said:

    All these arguments on a six-person power team.

    What's the optimal four-person power team?

    For Heart of Fury I would do:
    FMT
    FMC
    FMC
    Skald
    semiticgoddessSouplesse
  • SkatanSkatan Member, Moderator Posts: 5,352
    I enjoyed a playthrough with; F/M, F/C, F/D and F/T. Never made it all the way though due to restartitis.
    CrevsDaakmlneveseformer_customer
  • AyeotieeAyeotiee Member Posts: 34
    My current party setup(levl 2-3)

    Cavalier (two handed sword)
    Dwarven Defender (axe and shield)
    Priest of Tyr (flail and shield)
    Bounty Hunter (short bow)
    Bard (sling, he just sings though)
    Diviner (darts) - maybe I should have picked a Sorcerer instead


    CrevsDaak
  • nuthernuther Member Posts: 6
    edited February 2017
    I played this back in the day but never finished. I picked up the EE edition at X-mas.

    I made it to chapter 5 so far. I am at the giants.

    Here is my party, The Hobbit themed:

    Thorin Oakenshield, Dwarf Beserker (solid front rank)
    Elrond Halfeven, Elf Cleric kit (very low AC front rank)
    Bard the Bowman, Human Archer (very OP) has the most kills
    Beorn, Human Shapeshifter (very powerful melee)
    Bilbo Baggins, straight Hobbit thief (underwhelming)
    Gandalf, human Wild Mage (Wild Mage is disappointing because of random effects)

    I'm almost through the game, planning my second party now.
    Post edited by nuther on
    CrevsDaak
  • kozkoz Member Posts: 11
    Just finished normal mode with this group: fwiw I used the tweaks mod to loosen some of the race / class restrictions

    1. River Windsong - Half-Elven Bard, used 1 handed weapons + the Lyre of Progression, relatively standard Bard.

    2. Gristle Flintstrike - Half-Orc Ranger / Cleric, Dual Morningstars / Flails, or Sling + Shield. Racial enemy = Skeletal Undead. This one surprised me, the idea going in was to to use gristle as a ranged support / healer toon, but very quickly turned into a melee powerhouse. (Note, a Fighter / Cleric is a legal alternative)

    3. Katya Weavebane - Human Inquisitor Paladin, Bastard & Long Swords, Mace + Shield (initially) developed into dual long swords by mid -> late game. I thought I might miss not having the Undead Hunter package - I didn't. having quick casting Dispels & Truesight helped get the group through a lot of sticky situations.

    4. Frytz Wyrmbynder - Halfling Dragon Disciple - this guy was fun, despite the Kit being very awkwardly situated in 2nd ed. The heavy melee focus of the group often left this guy with not much to do except hide in the back with the bard. In boss fights Frytz was more heavily managed and was very effective in that role despite the limited selection of spells known and the fewer casts vs a pure Sorcerer.

    5. Halgred Duskthorne - Half Orc Blackguard - 2 handed weapons, Crossbow. I was a bit disappointed with this guy, the idea was he'd be chunking things left and right with massive damage a la Dorn or Saravok but that never really manifested. I'll chalk some of that up to 2 handed weapons seeming a bit underwhelming compared to Dual Wield or even Sword + Shield. There is a ton of non-good / evil restricted gear and from a RP perspective the guy was pretty neat, but for whatever reason this guy never found his niche.

    6. Kat Duskthorne - Half Orc Fighter / Thief - Longbow, Dual wield Scimitars, Short swords. A perfectly acceptable fighter thief - primarily the main party archer but more than capable as backup melee.

    In hindsight, this group (in particular Kat & Halgred) could have gotten a lot more mileage from using Axes and or Hammers as there were a lot of pretty good ones that just didn't get used.
    CrevsDaak
  • HumizHumiz Member Posts: 8
    The "All-Fighter" Party:
    ------------------------

    This is a "powergamer" type of party, that takes advantage of the Human's
    Dual Classing.

    Create a party of six (or how ever many people you want) fighters. While
    creating each of them, keep in mind what you would like them to dual class
    over to later. So, when you are creating your Fighter who will dual to
    Cleric, you need to get not only good Fighter stats, but also good Wisdom.
    The same would go for your Fighter who will be Thief, needing good
    Dexterity, Fighter who will be Mage needs good Intelligence, etc. Now
    when they reach level two, instantly dual class them over to their new
    class. What this accomplishes is creating better versions of
    Clerics/Thieves/Mages/etc., at a low cost of experience. (2000 exp for the
    Fighter level 2)

    Fighter (stays a fighter)
    Fighter (stays a fighter)
    Ranger dualled to Cleric at level 2
    Fighter dualled to Thief at level 2
    Fighter dualled to Mage at level 2
    +1 more character if desired (I'd take a Bard)

    This way, once your Cleric / Thief /Mage hits level 3,
    then they can wear normal armors and weapons.


    Taken from: Icewind Dale (PC) &
    Heart of Winter (PC)
    FAQ/Walkthrough
    Written by: Dan Simpson
    CrevsDaak
  • PokotaPokota Member Posts: 858
    edited February 2017
    Regarding that "guide", I'm happy to report that in unmodded IWD you can dual as late as 7 and not miss a lot - I dualed at the start of Dragon's Eye and had reclaimed five levels on my druid and four on my mage by the time I hit Yxunomei (my thief was backwards so that I could get assassin perks without kEEpering), and was back to using full equipment sets by the time we reached Larrel.
    CrevsDaak
  • ElendarElendar Member Posts: 831
    Its time for the necroing of this thread again! :P

    I just started up a run with the following party:

    Berserker(7) --> Mage
    Berserker(7) --> Cleric
    Berserker(7) --> Thief
    Sorcerer
    Sorcerer
    Archer



    Its fun so far, though I haven't yet gotten to the point of dual classing which is when I expect it to rather tough going while waiting for the classes to reactivate and not having a thief to unlock/disarm traps until that point too, not to mention the lack of divine casting.

    Might seem a bit overkill on the arcane magic with two sorcerers AND a F/M but it seems like it will be fun, might specialize the Sorcerers' spells so that one focuses more on offensive magic and the other on party buffs, debuffs and summons.

    Should be pretty stupidly OPed after the first 3 characters get their main classes reactivated, though. :tongue:
    inethCrevsDaak
  • Yulaw9460Yulaw9460 Member Posts: 634
    edited November 2018
    Deleted.
    Post edited by Yulaw9460 on
    CrevsDaakElendar
  • Contemplative_HamsterContemplative_Hamster Member Posts: 844
    I hear good things about druids in IWD:EE. Will a single Druid do as the only divine spellcaster in my party, or should I get a cleric as well, or even two druids? I'm using the Faiths&Powers mod, so lots of different druids and clerics are available.
    CrevsDaak
  • ElendarElendar Member Posts: 831
    edited April 2017

    I hear good things about druids in IWD:EE. Will a single Druid do as the only divine spellcaster in my party, or should I get a cleric as well, or even two druids? I'm using the Faiths&Powers mod, so lots of different druids and clerics are available.

    Druids are very good in Icewind Dale... You could likely get through the game easily enough with that being your only divine spellcaster but it wouldn't hurt at all to also bring a cleric as they have considerably different types of spells. edit: Also, only clerics get access to raise dead/resurrect spells (outside of wands/scrolls).

    Also you may want to consider dual classing a fighter into a druid at level 3 or just playing a multi-class fighter/druid in order to increase your druid's fighting abilities... if you're rather new to the game, I'd recommend both a Fighter/Druid multiclass and a Fighter/Cleric multiclass as a couple of your front liners.
    Pokota
  • Yulaw9460Yulaw9460 Member Posts: 634
    edited November 2018
    Deleted.
    Post edited by Yulaw9460 on
  • PokotaPokota Member Posts: 858
    edited April 2017

    I hear good things about druids in IWD:EE. Will a single Druid do as the only divine spellcaster in my party, or should I get a cleric as well, or even two druids? I'm using the Faiths&Powers mod, so lots of different druids and clerics are available.

    Each has their advantages and disadvantages, but you really only need one or the other. Druids get stronger offensive spells (and the Elemental summoning spells) in exchange for not being able to frontline in the endgame, while Clerics get better defensive spells (and Animate Dead for Divine 3 filler/cheap fodder). Either one is workable, just be mindful of the restrictions on Druids (and I wholly second the suggestion to dual into your divine class, if only to get all five ranks in sling).
  • CrevsDaakCrevsDaak Member Posts: 7,155

    I hear good things about druids in IWD:EE. Will a single Druid do as the only divine spellcaster in my party, or should I get a cleric as well, or even two druids? I'm using the Faiths&Powers mod, so lots of different druids and clerics are available.

    If you're using F&P, you should definitely get a Cleric. If you feel like it's too much, a F/C is already enough if you have Druid.
  • Yulaw9460Yulaw9460 Member Posts: 634
    edited November 2018
    Deleted.
    Post edited by Yulaw9460 on
    CrevsDaakElysianEchoesBalrog99
  • TerhidTerhid Member Posts: 11
    I'm putting together party that is virtually identical to @Yulaw9460:
    1.Undead Hunter (human)
    2.Bard (half-elf)
    3.Sorcerer (Elf)
    4.Fighter/Druid (half-elf)
    5.Thief/illusionist (gnome) OR fighter/thief OR F/M/T
    6.Fighter/cleric (dwarf)

    All my bases are covered, however I tither about 5th party member. Do I need more arcane power?
    Is another (half) fighter a benefit to the party? I could go with F/M/T but then I don't have a gnome in the party and this helmet is something I want. Any advice?

  • sarevok57sarevok57 Member Posts: 5,975
    Terhid said:

    I'm putting together party that is virtually identical to @Yulaw9460:
    1.Undead Hunter (human)
    2.Bard (half-elf)
    3.Sorcerer (Elf)
    4.Fighter/Druid (half-elf)
    5.Thief/illusionist (gnome) OR fighter/thief OR F/M/T
    6.Fighter/cleric (dwarf)

    All my bases are covered, however I tither about 5th party member. Do I need more arcane power?
    Is another (half) fighter a benefit to the party? I could go with F/M/T but then I don't have a gnome in the party and this helmet is something I want. Any advice?

    IWD was kind of built on the basis that you were going to have 1 arcane caster, a lot of the scrolls in IWD only have 1 copy of themselves, so you might not need a (third) arcane caster, also dwarves can were that +3 AC bonus helmet as well, and if you want to do some sort of thief you could do a dwarven fighter/thief if need be

    its dependant on how you play that bard, if you are essentially using your bard as a secondary arcane caster, then you could probably go for the dwarven fighter/thief, but if you are using your bard more for utility type stuff ( wands and bard song per say, with the odd spell here or there) then you could go for a gnome illuisionist/thief although, the illusionist/thief wouldn't be able to wear the helmet unfortunately

    actually just double checking your set up, you could give the helmet to your dwarven fighter/cleric and just go with the gnome illusionist/thief, just for the lulz, and if you can make sure to give that gnome some illusion spells, since he is an illusionist and enemies will get a -2 penalty to their saves when spells are cast against them ( blindness being an awesome example is great for illusionists )

    and then with that being said, any spells that have durations/protect party members, you can give to your bard, because your bard will be a higher level and hence make durations last longer ( things like haste )

    CrevsDaaksemiticgoddess
  • TerhidTerhid Member Posts: 11
    Thanks for the reply. Now that I think of how rare certain scrolls are, using sorcerer would break the game easily. I'm gonna go with both fitghter/illusionist and figther/thief (half orc I guess), and drop sorcerer.
    sarevok57
  • SomeSortSomeSort Member Posts: 859
    sarevok57 said:

    also dwarves can were that +3 AC bonus helmet as well, and if you want to do some sort of thief you could do a dwarven fighter/thief if need be

    Nope. Halfling and Gnome only, no Dwarves.
    CrevsDaak
  • sarevok57sarevok57 Member Posts: 5,975
    SomeSort said:

    sarevok57 said:

    also dwarves can were that +3 AC bonus helmet as well, and if you want to do some sort of thief you could do a dwarven fighter/thief if need be

    Nope. Halfling and Gnome only, no Dwarves.
    oops my bad, I knew there was a second race that could wear it, thought it was dwarf

  • ElendarElendar Member Posts: 831
    Necroing this thread again, but this is a party I've just decided to make after getting bored really fast and not even getting out of Easthaven with a solo Cleric/Mage. Not sure how well it will work out, kind of worried that my cleric will be too low a level being a multiclass, but my shapeshifter should be able to help make up for that.

    Human Undead Hunter
    Dwarf Dwarven Defender
    Elf Shapeshifter
    Gnome Cleric/Thief
    Human Sorcerer
    Half-elf Bard
    sarevok57SkatanCrevsDaak
  • RedrakeRedrake Member Posts: 426
    Haven't posted here in a while. Long standing IWD1 player here, with over 100 runs in the original game.

    There are no best parties. Each party can be good as long as it is adapt to each player's playing style or if it goes in an RPG with a story or if it is built for specific purposes.

    I would suggest that the bard should be part of any party. The bards in IWD1 are simply awesome and they even have some wonderful items designed for them, quests that only a bard can solve and their songs are simply top notch. I wouldn't even consider taking any kit for them. I saw some builts with Skalds or Blades. The songs from the original bard are way more powerful than anything Skalds or Jesters can sing. Let alone the fact that they don't lose any skill points.

    A feature which unfortunately many people did not know in the original game was that rangers got an extra melee attack as long as they did not wear a shield. Plenty of players assumed this meant one-handed weapon, but in truth, a ranger was best built with a 2H weapon like a great sword or a halberd. One extra attack with such a weapon from level 1 was amazing. In EE, however this one was baldurized into dual-wielding.

    What I would think is the best party from the original game?

    Human Paladin
    Dwarf Fighter/Cleric
    Elf Ranger (with Giants as favored enemy)
    Half-Elf Fighter/Druid
    Half-Elf Bard
    Human Thief/Abjurer (dual-classed after entering the Aquarium, usually around level 12, as at that point there are no more traps in the original part of IWD)

    This party should be powerful enough and get a player through all quests and allow the use of all weapons.

    In EE, however, due to some overpowered kits and baldurization (I personally never bought the whole "feature not transported from the original IWD source code" idea, too many features are added from BG, like spells, kits and mechanics), the above party is no longer as viable.

    I'd say the "best" as far as coming close to the above party would be:

    Human Paladin (True class, as Undead Hunter, is nifty in BGs, but in IWD, there are no vampires, so the undead is down to just bash them) Paladins translated from IWD do have Smite Evil. That little spell can hurt enemies without save and is devastating at high levels.
    Half-Elf Ranger/Cleric (still one of the best tanks IMO, even though some would perhaps use the old BG2 overpowered build of Kensai/Cleric) and still Giants as favored enemy
    Dwarf Dwarven Defender
    Half-Elf Bard (no kits, for reasons explained above)
    Elf Fighter/Mage/Thief
    Human Abjurer (or Wild Mage)

    As one can fathom, I am not a big fan of kits. And because it is no longer possible to dual-class to a specialist mage (apparently, this feature was not imported), unless you use the EEKeeper, single classes kits are somewhat either underpowered or overpowered.

    In my first run through EE, I tried to see what the new kits and classes add to IWD. Sorcerer is overpoweringly broken, as IWD1 had an intelligent placement of spells balanced for a normal difficulty run through the game (this was back from HoW introduced the extra XP for Very Easy or Very Hard difficulties). A mage could reach to cast spells for level 3 only when finding them available as loot or to buy. A sorcerer gets them for free. In the original game you couldn't blast the Verbeergs in Temple of the Forgotten God with a well placed Fireball, because you could only find that in level 1 of Dragon's Eye. Now, a sorcerer rules the scene of battle.

    Also, please note the above use of Abjurer. In IWD1 this is IMO the best specialist mage, as they get all the spells, without Illusions and Transmutations. This means no Mirror Image, Haste or Blindness, but for those the Bard with its highest casting levelel is perfect. Dual classing to one is very difficult to do however, as they need 15 Wisdom.

    Shikaotbone1ElrandirCrevsDaak
  • kaja8kaja8 Member Posts: 52
    I'm figuring out my new party and I cpuld use some help.
    1. Paladin Cavalier or UH
    2. Vanilla Bard
    3. Dwarven Defender
    4. Sorcerer
    5. Fighter/Druid
    That means I would have to make my last character a thief/cleric, but I would rather make a thief dual cleric. What level should I dual at?
  • CrevsDaakCrevsDaak Member Posts: 7,155
    kaja8 wrote: »
    That means I would have to make my last character a thief/cleric, but I would rather make a thief dual cleric. What level should I dual at?
    I'd say as soon as you hit 100 in both open locks and find traps. For a human with 18 DEX, I think level 5 should be enough. I've still not played IwD, but I believe you only need those two.
    kaja8
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